Homes feel different at 7 a.m. in February than they do at 4 p.m. in August. Your HVAC system lives that swing with you, and how you prepare it between seasons determines whether your space stays comfortable without surprise breakdowns or spiking utility bills. Over the years, I’ve crawled through attics in July, pulled furnace panels in December, and seen the same patterns repeat. Small, timely steps carry outsized benefits. Miss them, and you invite noise, uneven temperatures, poor air quality, and early equipment failure.
Central Virginia brings its own rhythm: humid summers, pollen-heavy springs, and chilly damp winters. For homeowners in and around Richmond, it’s not enough to switch the thermostat from heat to cool. The transition weeks are the time to clean, test, lubricate, tighten, and calibrate. Done methodically, it extends equipment life by years and recovers 5 to 15 percent in efficiency that would otherwise vanish into dust and duct leaks.
Below is a practical, field-tested guide shaped by what technicians see every season. Use it as a framework. Adapt the timing to your home’s quirks, your equipment’s age, and your family’s routines.
The seasonal mindset that keeps systems reliable
HVAC works hard when conditions push it to extremes. During shoulder seasons, it’s off-duty more often, which makes maintenance easier and more effective. You can shut down, open panels, check airflow, and make adjustments without the system fighting the weather. The payoff shows up in the first heat wave or cold snap, when properly prepped equipment starts quietly, hits the setpoint, and stays there without constant cycling.
I often divide the year in four HVAC phases: wind-down, tune-up, ramp-up, and steady-state. In fall, you wind down cooling and tune up heating. In spring, you wind down heating and tune up cooling. The transitions are where you find wear, restore airflow, fix leaks, and reset controls. If you ignore those windows, the system will force the issue when the load spikes.
What changes most from season to season
Cooling stresses different components than heating does. In summer, the condenser fan runs constantly, the compressor works at high head pressures, and every bit of dirt on the outdoor coil costs you energy. In winter, ignition systems and heat exchangers take center stage; gas pressures and safety sensors become critical. Airflow matters year-round, but pollen and cottonwood hit filters hard in late spring, while dry winter air tends to deposit fine dust inside returns and blower housings.
Your home’s envelope also shifts. Summer humidity raises latent load inside, while winter infiltration introduces cold, dry air that drives up demand. Duct leaks change character with temperature differentials. Sealing and insulation tasks you do once can perform differently at 32 degrees than at 92, which is why we verify, not assume.
Spring: retire the furnace, ready the air conditioner
When the forsythia bloom and you’re tempted to open the windows, start the cooling prep. Don’t wait for the first 85-degree afternoon to discover the outdoor unit won’t start. A good spring tune-up focuses on cleaning, airflow, and refrigerant performance.
Begin with the simple items you control. Replace or wash the air filter. If you run a 1-inch pleated filter, mark your calendar every 30 to 60 days in spring and summer. Families with pets or allergy sufferers may need 30 days. High-MERV filters catch more particles but restrict airflow faster; be sure your blower is sized and set to handle them. If you use a media cabinet with a 4- or 5-inch filter, inspect quarterly and replace every 6 to 12 months depending on dust load.
Outdoor coils collect everything the wind throws at them. I’ve seen foxtail seeds knit themselves into a felt blanket across a condenser in one weekend. Shut the power at the disconnect before you clean. Use a garden hose with a gentle spray from the inside out if you can access it, or from the cleaner side to the dirty side. Avoid pressure washers; they bend fins and crush capacity. If the fins are matted, a fin comb and patience help. Keep shrubbery at least two feet away on all sides. Air needs room to move.
Look at the condensate side early. Cooling season brings gallons of water through the drain each day. Algae grows in warm, stagnant pans. A blocked condensate line will shut your system off, trip safety switches, or worse, overflow into ceilings. Clear the line with a wet/dry vacuum at the outside termination. Add an algaecide or a splash of white vinegar monthly during peak cooling. If you have a condensate pump, test it by pouring water into the pan and watching for reliable discharge.
Thermostat settings deserve attention in spring. If you upgraded to a smart thermostat in winter, revisit your schedule for cooling. Tight setbacks can hurt efficiency in humid climates; bringing a warm, moist house down too quickly can lead to longer runtimes without adequate moisture removal. A moderate schedule with smaller temperature swings typically balances comfort and cost better. For many homes in this region, a 74 to 76 degree cooling setpoint with a consistent fan setting on auto works well. If you have humidity control, aim for 45 to 55 percent relative humidity.
On the professional side, spring is the time to measure refrigerant performance rather than guess. We don’t “top off” systems on hunches. A proper check includes superheat, subcooling, and temperature splits across the coil, matched to outdoor conditions. These numbers reveal charge accuracy, metering device health, coil cleanliness, and airflow. If your outdoor unit is a heat pump, the reversing valve and defrost controls deserve a function test even though you’re leaving winter behind. Any hesitations or loud shifts now are a clue to service a component before summer heat magnifies the issue.
Electrical components age with heat and time. Start capacitors that looked fine in October can test weak in April and fail on the first 90-degree day. During a spring tune-up, a technician will test microfarads against the rating, tighten lugs, inspect contactors for pitting, and verify amperage draw against nameplate data. These steps prevent nuisance trips and long, quiet stretches of zero cooling while you wait for parts.
Summer: keep air moving and moisture managed
Once cooling season settles in, habits keep you efficient. Resist the urge to bury vents under rugs or push furniture tight against returns. Airflow is a loop; what you restrict at the return raises static pressure across the blower and robs capacity. If parts of your home feel stuffy, it’s more often an airflow balance issue than a thermostat setting problem. Marginally opening or closing supply dampers can help, but big swings usually backfire. If you’re making quarter turns and chasing comfort, ask for a professional balance and duct inspection.
Moisture is the second summer pillar. A healthy system doesn’t just drop air temperature; it wrings out humidity. If your home stays above 55 percent relative humidity, even at cool temperatures, investigate. Oversized equipment cycles off before it can dehumidify. Undersized return air, a dirty blower wheel, or a restricted evaporator coil can cause similar symptoms. heating solutions by Foster In older homes, adding a dedicated whole-home dehumidifier in parallel with the existing system often solves chronic humidity without overcooling.
Watch your utility bills. A sudden jump often tracks back to a slow refrigerant leak or a monitored setting that changed, like a Foster Plumbing & Heating thermostat running the fan continuously. If your outdoor unit runs far more than usual with the same weather pattern, listen for new noises — a loud condenser fan, a chattering contactor, a compressor that starts hard. Early sound changes are the system whispering before it screams.
Fall: give heat the attention it deserves
When evening air turns crisp, you want heat to respond on command, without burnt-dust odors or ignition drama. Start by running the system on a mild day so you can troubleshoot without shivering. Expect a faint smell the first time as dust burns off the heat exchanger. It should dissipate in a few minutes. Anything sharp, acrid, or smoke-like warrants an immediate shutoff and inspection.
For gas furnaces, ignition sequence matters. Modern systems use hot surface igniters or spark igniters. They should glow or spark steadily, the gas valve should open promptly, and the flame should settle evenly across the burners with a steady blue color and slight yellow tips at the top. Lazy, yellow flames or flame rollout indicate testing by a professional. Flame sensors often build a thin oxide layer after sitting through summer humidity; a technician can clean or replace them and test microamp signal. DIY sanding can damage a sensor’s protective layer; use fine steel wool at most and be gentle.
Venting systems deserve a look. Birds and wasps love flue terminations for nesting. A partially blocked intake or exhaust on a high-efficiency furnace can cause pressure switch trips and random lockouts. PVC venting should slope back toward the furnace to drain condensate. Any sagging sections or pooling water can shut you down when temperatures drop below freezing. On metal venting, look for rust streaks, pinholes, or loose joints. Combustion produces moisture; signs of corrosion are early flags.
Heat pumps need another set of checks. The reversing valve must switch reliably. In heating mode, the outdoor coil will get cold and eventually frost. Defrost cycles should run and clear frost without leaving the unit entombed in ice. If your heat pump struggles at 30 to 40 degrees, the auxiliary heat staging or thermostat logic may need adjustment. A well-configured system keeps you comfortable without jumping to expensive strip heat too early.
Change the filter again. Heat needs air just like cooling does, and winter often adds more indoor time, more cooking, and less ventilation via open windows. If you have a whole-home humidifier, change the water panel, clean the distribution tray, and set the control relative to outdoor temperatures to prevent window condensation. Homes vary, but a setting that targets 35 to 40 percent humidity at 30 degrees outside often balances comfort and fog-free glass. Many controls have an outdoor sensor to automate this; if yours does not, plan to adjust manually when deep cold arrives.
Carbon monoxide safety isn’t negotiable. Combination smoke and CO detectors expire, typically at five to seven years. Check the date codes and replace if needed. If you heat with gas or oil, schedule a combustion analysis at least every other season. A trained tech will measure oxygen, carbon monoxide, and stack temperature, and calculate efficiency. Numbers don’t guess. They catch a failing heat exchanger, a misadjusted gas valve, or a venting problem before they become dangerous.
Winter: steady heat, quiet operation, predictable bills
Once temperatures settle in, your jobs are smaller but regular. Keep that filter on schedule. Listen for new sounds during morning start-ups: whining blower motors, booming ignition, or rattling ductwork that used to behave. A small vibration can loosen screws and escalate. Addressing a blower wheel set screw in December is a 20-minute fix. Waiting until it enlarges the hub is a replacement.
Drafts tell you as much about your HVAC as your windows. If a room runs cold even though the thermostat reads satisfied, the duct serving it may have separated in the attic, or the return path may be undersized. Temporary fixes like closing nearby supply registers can shift a little more air, but better solutions involve sealing ducts, adding a return, or resizing supply branches. In Richmond’s older homes, we often find flex duct with crushed elbows or missing mastic at joints. A day of sealing pays back with even temperatures and lower runtime.
Watch your defrost cycles on heat pumps. It’s normal to see steam rise from the outdoor unit during defrost and to hear the fan pause. It should clear heavy frost in a few minutes and switch back. If you see a progressively thicker ice shell over days, call for service. Prolonged ice loads stress the fan motor and can crack fan blades.
Keep snow and leaves away from outdoor units. A buried heat pump can’t breathe. Create a simple wind baffle if prevailing winds pile snow against the coil, but keep any structure at least a foot away from the cabinet on all sides and above. Don’t wrap units in plastic; trapped moisture corrodes components and invites pests.
The quiet workhorse: airflow and ducts
Most HVAC complaints trace back to airflow. A clean blower wheel can add hundreds of CFM that a new thermostat could never conjure. I’ve pulled wheels that looked like wool sweaters in homes with pristine filters. It happens when a return bypass or a filter slot gap lets unfiltered air into the system. Tape and magnets aren’t enough; use properly fitting filter racks and seal openings with sheet metal and mastic, not cloth duct tape.
Duct leakage robs comfort and dollars. Supply leaks dump conditioned air into attics or crawl spaces. Return leaks pull dusty, hot, or cold air into the system and spread it through the home. In testing, we routinely see 20 to 30 percent leakage in unsealed systems. Sealing with mastic and metal tape, adding lined takeoffs, and insulating to at least R-8 in unconditioned spaces make a measurable difference. Beyond energy, duct repairs reduce noise, hot-cold spots, and the need to overdrive fans.
Thermostats and controls: set them to help, not hinder
Controls can improve comfort and savings, but misapplied settings create headaches. For heat pumps, use thermostats that understand staging and have adaptive recovery. Aggressive setbacks in winter can trigger long runs of electric auxiliary heat when the system tries to recover quickly. A smaller setback or a schedule that starts recovery earlier preserves efficiency. Similarly, in summer, fan-on settings can make homes feel muggy by re-evaporating moisture off the coil between cycles. Fan auto usually wins for dehumidification.
If your system supports it, use humidity targets and ventilation controls tied to outdoor conditions. Bringing in fresh air during mild, dry weather feels great. Pulling in warm, wet August air without treatment overwhelms the system. Many modern systems balance ventilation, filtration, and dehumidification with simple sensor-based logic once configured correctly.
When to call a professional and what to expect
Homeowners can and should handle filters, basic cleaning, condensate checks, and visual inspections. If you’re changing settings and habits with no improvement — or if you notice repeated short cycling, tripped breakers, visible ice on lines, loud new noises, or persistent odors — it’s time for trained hands.
A thorough professional seasonal service isn’t a quick glance. For cooling, expect electrical testing, refrigerant performance checks, coil cleaning if dirty, blower inspection, static pressure measurement, thermostat calibration, and condensate system clearing. For heating, include combustion analysis or heat pump heating performance, ignition system verification, safety shutoff tests, venting checks, and airflow measurement. Numbers matter; a good tech shares them and explains what they mean.
Why a Richmond-based team helps
Climate and housing stock shape HVAC work. Brick bungalows with damp crawl spaces behave differently than new builds with spray-foamed attics. Pollen peaks, cottonwood fluff timing, and humidity patterns are local too. A crew that spends its days in Chesterfield attics and Richmond basements knows the usual suspects: returns undersized by an inch, flex runs stretched too tight, condensate drains routed uphill, attic furnaces without secondary pans. Local experience shortens the path from symptom to fix.
Small upgrades that pay their way
Not every improvement needs a system replacement. ECM blower motor retrofits often save energy and reduce noise by matching airflow to demand. Media filtration cabinets add surface area and keep coils cleaner than thin filters. UV lights aren’t a cure-all, but placed correctly they keep slime off coils and prevent biofilm that blocks heat transfer. Smart thermostats with humidity logic can maintain comfort at slightly higher summer setpoints, shaving runtime.
Duct work is the sleeper investment. Sealing with mastic, correcting kinks, and right-sizing returns frequently produce the most noticeable comfort gains per dollar. Homeowners are often surprised when a quiet duct renovation solves rooms that never felt right — even with brand-new equipment.
Budgeting for replacements and avoiding surprises
Equipment doesn’t last forever. In our region, gas furnaces typically serve 15 to 20 years, air conditioners and heat pumps 10 to 15. Outdoor environment, maintenance history, and installation quality pull those numbers up or down. If your unit crosses the decade mark, plan, don’t panic. Start gathering quotes before it fails. Ask about Manual J load calculations, duct assessments, and efficiency tiers that make sense for your usage. The most efficient equipment on paper performs poorly with starved airflow or leaky ducts.
Consider total cost of ownership, not just the sticker price. A right-sized, properly installed 15-SEER heat pump that runs smoothly for 14 years beats an oversized 18-SEER unit that short cycles and needs compressor work in year seven. Warranties matter, but the installer’s workmanship and service culture matter more.
A practical, minimal seasonal checklist
Use this short list as a reminder around the equinoxes and the first hard cold:
- Replace or wash the air filter and ensure the filter rack seals tightly. Clean the outdoor coil gently and clear vegetation two feet around the unit. Vacuum and flush the condensate drain; test pumps and float switches. Run the system in the next mode early: heat in fall, cool in spring; listen and sniff for issues. Schedule professional service for refrigerant performance or combustion analysis and safety checks.
How professional maintenance complements your efforts
You can do a lot on your own, but a seasoned technician brings instruments and judgment honed by thousands of systems. That combination finds trouble early. Static pressure readings tell you whether ducts are constricting the system. Superheat and subcooling readings reveal charge issues without guesswork. Combustion analysis gives a safety and efficiency snapshot that eyes can’t match. I’ve watched homeowners save a compressor by catching a weak capacitor in April, and I’ve watched others lose one in July because no one opened the panel in spring.
Consistent service builds a record for your home. Trends matter. A slowly falling temperature split across the coil year over year points to a restriction long before it shows up as no cooling. Slightly rising CO levels hint at a heat exchanger aging toward failure. Your home becomes easier to keep comfortable because the system is known, not mysterious.
Foster Plumbing & Heating is ready to help
If you’re in the Richmond area and want seasonal maintenance done right, Foster Plumbing & Heating brings local knowledge and a full-service approach. From precision tune-ups and honest diagnostics to duct repairs and smart control setup, the team understands how our climate and housing stock interact with HVAC systems.
Contact Us
Foster Plumbing & Heating
Address: 11301 Business Center Dr, Richmond, VA 23236, United States
Phone: (804) 215-1300
Website: http://fosterpandh.com/
Whether you need a spring cooling tune-up, a fall heating inspection, or help sorting out a room that never feels right, bring in a crew that treats the system as a whole. Seasonal preparation isn’t a chore list for its own sake; it’s how you make comfort predictable, keep air healthy, and avoid those weekend failures that always seem to happen during the first real heat wave or the coldest night of the month.
Final thoughts from years in the field
I’ve learned to trust the small things. A level condenser pad, a sealed filter slot, a properly sloped condensate line, a return grille sized for reality rather than a catalog — these details influence how equipment behaves when the weather tests it. Big-ticket equipment only shines when basics are in place. Each season brings a chance to reset those basics.
Treat your HVAC like the mechanical heart of the house. Keep air paths clean and open. Verify safety and performance with numbers, not wishful thinking. Adjust controls to match the season rather than fighting it. When in doubt, ask for help from people who crawl through the same crawl spaces and attics you have. Do that, and your home will feel steady through the swings that make central Virginia beautiful and challenging in equal measure.